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Gibson County, Indiana
Gibson County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana and is included in the Evansville, Indiana–Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 33,503. The county seat is Princeton. Geography Gibson County is the northern part of the Evansville, Indiana–Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. Nearly 90% of the county exists within the Ohio River Valley American Viticultural Area along with all of neighboring Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties and a portion of Pike County.Edocket.access.gpo.gov Despite being close to Evansville and experiencing a large growth of population in the central areas, Gibson County still remains a largely rural county with half of the ten townships having populations less than 2,000. Less than 7 percent of the county's lies within incorporated settlements, or 10 percent if subdivisions are included. The western part of the county consists largely of spread-out flood-prone farms with spotty marshes along the Wabash and White Rivers. There are rolling hills around Owensville, and large forest and marshland tracts lie near the Gibson Generating Station and the three river settlements of Crawleyville, East Mount Carmel, and Skelton. The northern part is near the White River and is more given to hills and forest. The eastern part contains many hills and is also dotted with strip pits and active coal mines. The southern part is more given to valley and marshland, drained by the Pigeon Creek which flows south through Evansville. Even without Interstate 69, The county is within a day's drive of Chicago, Cincinnati, Chattanooga, Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, Springfield, St. Louis, even South Bend, Fort Wayne despite the lack of freeway connection. There are two major intersections in the southern extremes of the county. One is the intersection of Interstate 64 and US 41. The other is between Interstate 64 and Interstate 69, which will eventually link the county and Evansville to Indianapolis and Memphis and make a day trip to even Detroit possible. The western half of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area lies within Gibson County. According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 97.94%) is land and (or 2.06%) is water. It is one of several United States counties which border eight other counties. Adjacent counties Cities *Oakland City (47660) *Princeton (47670) Towns *Buckskin (47647) *Fort Branch (47648) *Francisco (47649) *Haubstadt (47639) *Hazleton (47640) *Mackey (47654) *Owensville (47665) *Patoka (47666) *Somerville (47683) Unincorporated communities * Baldwin Heights and Northbrook Hills are within the city limits of Princeton. Townships Gibson County consists of ten townships: Two townships, Wabash and Washington, contain no incorporated towns. Climate and weather }} In recent years, average temperatures in Princeton have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May. Government The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code. The county council is the fiscal branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, including income and property taxes (which are subject to state-level approval), excise taxes, and service taxes. The Council Members are, George Ankenbrand, W.W. George, Bill McConnell,Tony Wolfe, LeAnn Smith, Craig Pflug, and Jeremy Overton. The Board of Commissioners is the legislative and executive body of the county government. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered four-year terms. One of the commissioners—typically the most senior—serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government. The Commissioners are Bob Townsend, Gerald Bledsoe, and Alan Douglas. The county maintains two court systems, Circuit Court, with Judge Jeff Mead, presiding and Superior Court, with Judge Earl Penrod, presiding. The judges on the court are elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court. The county has several other elected offices, including Sheriff, George Ballard; Coroner, Barrett Doyle; Auditor, C. T. Montgomery; Treasurer, Mary Key; Recorder, Debbie Wethington; Surveyor, Michael Stevenson; Assessor, Juanita Beadle; and Circuit Court Clerk, Becky Woodburn. Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county. Gibson County is part of Indiana's 8th congressional district; Indiana Senate districts 48 and 49; and Indiana House of Representatives districts 64, 75 and 76. History The first white settler of Gibson County was John Severns. He was a native of Wales and came with his parents to America several years before the Revolutionary War. He settled in Gibson County in 1789-90 on the south bank of the Patoka River at a place now known as Severns Bridge. Another early Gibson County settler was William Hargrove, who came from Kentucky by pack mule in 1803; Captain Hargrove commanded a company of militia from Gibson County at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The Rev. Joseph Milburn, along with his son, Robert Milburn, also arrived in 1803. They settled near Princeton, between the Patoka and White Rivers. The Milburns were from the area of Washington County, Kentucky. Rev. Milburn, a Baptist, established the first church; Robert established the first distillery in Indiana. In 1805, Jacob Warrick arrived, along with his father-in-law, Thomas Montgomery. They burned out the last Indian village in 1807, chasing the inhabitants into the Illinois Territory. Captain Warrick was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Gibson County was organized in 1813 out of Knox County. The county was named for John Gibson, an officer in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Gibson was Secretary of the Indiana Territory, serving as acting Governor on two occasions. Warrick County was organized out of Gibson County almost a month later, the two counties separated by Rector's Base Line. When organized on April 1, 1813, Gibson County occupied everything from the Paoli Base Line to the Wabash River and from the White River to the Ohio River. Rector's Base Line separated the southern half of the county to form Warrick County which was organized on April 30, 1813. The counties of Warrick, Orange, Perry, Spencer, Posey, Pike, Dubois, Crawford, and Vanderburgh, and part of Lawrence County all came from the roughly area occupied by the original Gibson County. When the county was organized, Patoka was initially intended to be the county seat. However, Patoka's low-lying location along the Patoka River gave rise to a malaria epidemic; to avoid this, the commissioners chose to establish a new town, eventually known as Princeton, on higher ground approximately south. However, although Princeton contends that it was the only county seat, some contend that county records indicate that Owensville was a temporary county seat since Princeton was not even laid out until late 1814, at least a year after Gibson County's organization. Recent Disasters Late 2004 Snowstorm In the holiday season of 2004, a crippling snowstorm struck. The event was well forecast, but was not forecasted to be as heavy. The storm dumped over twice the usual annual snowfall in only three days. The total accumulations from this storm averaged 20 inches in Gibson County, with snow drifts reaching over in spots and some spots of Gibson County receiving as much as .NWS Paducah, KY This resulted in a very chaotic situation, as travel between towns was impossible and even basic public services were unable to function. The snowstorm was so intense that Interstate 64 was closed down. The Indiana National Guard was dispatched, and many local farmers with knowledge of the area and vehicles that were not hampered by the snow were also recruited to assist in emergency services for the stranded motorists. This snowstorm was so intense that it apparently snowed in Galveston, Texas, which typically experiences very mild winters. Flood of Early January 2005 The snowstorm ended just about as fast as it started. By the end of December 2004, temperatures were above 50 to 60 degrees and the snow that fell began to melt very quickly. The White River at Hazleton got as high as 31 feet (almost high enough to overtake US 41),Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service: Indianapolis: White River at Hazleton while the Wabash River at Mount Carmel, Illinois rose to .Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service: Indianapolis: Wabash River at Mount Carmel Extreme flooding occurred throughout the county and hundreds of local high school students from many counties assisted the Indiana National Guard in shoring up levees and sandbagging towns. Hazleton was evacuated because its levee was showing signs of fatigue. The effort given by those who participated was enough to for all of the levees to hold. By the end of January 2005, the rivers had receded enough to allow people to return to their homes. Overall, over 100 homes were lost in the flood, which was considered the second-worst flood in the area's history (after the Flood of 1913). April 2008 Earthquake The 2008 Illinois earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in the state of Illinois, measuring a magnitude of 5.2. It occurred at 4:37:00 a.m. CDT (9:37:00 UTC) on April 18 within the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone at a depth of 11.6 km. It was centered near West Salem, Illinois and Mount Carmel, Illinois, specifically at 38.450° N, 87.890° W. Because of its proximity, Gibson County was impacted in less than one second after the initial quake. List of Impacts form the Earthquake * In Princeton, Indiana, a woman was cut when a crystal figurine was knocked from a shelf in her home. *Unit 4 at Duke Energy's Gibson Generating Station automatically shut down after the earthquake due to its vibration sensors.Tristate-media.com *A coal mine was also evacuated after the earthquake, but miners returned to work shortly afterwards. *The county's 9-1-1 system experienced a short outage due to a flood of calls resulting from the earthquake, but after about 15 minutes service was restored. Flood of June 2008 Another major flood occurred in June 2008. Four elements made this flood very different from the 2008 Flood. First, unlike the previous flood, this was caused by intense rainfall as opposed to intense snowfall. Secondly, the source of the 2008 flood was entirely upstream rather in the area.SRH.noaa.gov, Precipitation Analysis Pages. Third and one of the major difference between the 2008 and 2005 floods is that both the Wabash and White Rivers were severely flooded, whereas the 2005 flood was predominately from the White River. The fourth was that unlike the 2005 flood, nearly all of Gibson County's levees held the flood back while many levees upstream were failing, this was due once again to the Indiana National Guard.Tristate-media.com Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 32,500 people, 12,847 households, and 9,095 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 people per square mile (26/km²). There were 14,125 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.46% White, 1.91% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 35.4% were of German, 21.9% American, 11.9% English and 10.2% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 12,847 households out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county the population was spread out with 24.80% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,515, and the median income for a family was $44,839. Males had a median income of $35,511 versus $21,284 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,169. About 6.60% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.40% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over. While the housing markets around the area have been down as much 18% in 2007, Gibson County's home sales were up almost 11% in 2007. Areas that showed the most increases were in the southern part of the county, particularly around Haubstadt and Fort Branch. Owensville and Princeton also have recently seen increases in home sales and/or restorations, but on a somewhat smaller scale, despite the weak housing market. Transportation 168 between Owensville and Fort Branch.]] County roads Gibson County has over of county roads, one of the largest amounts of county-maintained roads outside of an urban county. Like most Indiana counties, Gibson County uses the Indiana county road system to identify its roads. U.S. Route 41 (a north-south road) and State Road 64 (an east-west road) are near the meridian and division lines for the county, respectively. Major highways * * *''' * * * * * * * * * * '*'Construction is currently underway - See below article. 64. It is also known as "The Little Monster" because of the large amount of accidents that occur here. Like the main bridge, this bridge was built to the width standards of the 1930's. It will be replaced by a new bridge expected to be completed in the fall of 2010.]] Interstate 69 A section of Interstate 69's construction groundbreaking occurred on July 16, 2008, at the Centre in Evansville. This project has its controversy, highlighted by a small group of protesters in attendance. As of July 15, a section of Indiana State Road 168 has been temporarily closed to through traffic in order to install an interchange. This will be the first in a series of Gibson County Highways temporarily closed in order to construct interchanges as the highway expands northward, toward Pike County on its way to Indianapolis. Other temporary closures will include Indiana State Road 168 and Indiana State Road 64. Some self-proclaimed "environmentalists" have sworn to do everything possible to stop I-69 construction in Southern Indiana. Especially active is a group called Roadblock Earth First which has been responsible for a number of incidents in Oakland City and at a Haubstadt asphalt yard given the contract for the first segment; however, on the other hand, there are many environmentalists who are highly supportive of this project, as they see the value of constructing additional wetlands, other land improvements, and potential for better air quality due to the new road. Some supporters come from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife who see the advantages of having improved travel to the recently established Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge. One Representative has said they hope to locate a park facility near I-69 and Oakland City. A portion of the first segment opened in late September 2009. It is about long, stretching from the I-64/I-164/SR57 intersection to SR 68, which has reopened, but remains under construction to complete the interchange that will continue the road project northward. Invitation-only groundbreaking set for I-69 segment : Local News : Evansville Courier PressLong-awaited I-69 begins : Local News : Evansville Courier Press Railroads Three railroad lines pass through the county. CSX Transportation operates a north-south line, and Norfolk Southern Railway operates an east-west line; they intersect in Princeton. A north-south Indiana Southern Railroad line intersects the Norfolk Southern line at Oakland City. Sports Gibson County's association to baseball is far-reaching with known Major League Baseball players and announcers such as Gary Denbo, Dave Niehaus, Eric Campbell, and most notably MLB legend Gil Hodges the namesake of Gil Hodges Field, a little league field in Princeton. Gibson County has recently made is mark on the High School scene with two softball titles by Gibson Southern and a double overtime Boys Basketball State Title by Princeton in 2009, completing a 29-0 Season. In addition there are three State Runner-Up Titles. All of these titles have been acquired since Gibson Southern's Softball Runner-Up Title in 2001. State and Runner-Up Titles Gibson Southern State Titles - AAA Softball (2003, 2005) State Runner-Up Titles - AA Softball (2001), AAA Girls Basketball (2002) Princeton Community State Title - AAA Boys Basketball (2009) Wood Memorial State Runner-Up - A Girls Basketball (2007) Gibson County Toyota Teamwork Classic Since 2000 Eight Gibson County schools and Oakland City University have hosted the Gibson County Toyota Teamwork Classic a 8-team playoff basketball classic tourney in December, sponsored by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana. The Alan Hopewell Class Invitational Another even larger sports gathering is the Alan Hopewell Class Invitational. Started by Gibson Southern Coach and Washington, Indiana native Alan Hopewell in 1981 as the Gibson Southern Cross Country Class Invitational, its name was changed in 2008 in his honor. Hopewell, who was very active in the invitational for 28 years until 2008 when he was battling cancer, had to let others run the invitational, Alan Hopwell died a week later in September, 2008. The 2009 Invitational featured 20 Cross Country Teams out of the expected 22 Teams and is the largest Cross Country meet in Southern Indiana, drawing cross-country teams from six of the ten Evansville Schools as well as teams from Illinois and for the first time, Kentucky.Hopewell Class Invitational draws area's largest fieldCourierpress.com 2009 Hopewell Class Invitational Participating Schools * Barr-Reeve (NS) * Boonville * Castle * Evansville Harrison * Evansville Mater Dei * Evansville Reitz * Evansville Reitz Memorial * Evansville Signature * Gibson Southern * Heritage Hills * Mt. Carmel (Illinois) * Mt. Vernon * North Posey * Owensboro Senior (Kentucky) * Pike Central * Princeton Community * South Knox * Tecumseh * Vincennes Lincoln * Washington * Washington Catholic (NS) (NS) - No Show Education ' in Green 'North Gibson in Red South Gibson in Maroon|300px]] Gibson County's three municipal school districts East Gibson School Corporation - Oakland City: *Waldo J. Wood Memorial Jr/Sr High School - Oakland City (Trojans) *Oakland City Elementary School - Oakland City (Acorns) *Francisco Elementary School - Francisco (Owls) *Barton Township School - Mackey (Aces) North Gibson School Corporation - Princeton: *Princeton Community High School - Princeton (Tigers) *Princeton Community Middle School - Princeton (Tigers) *Lowell North Elementary School (formerly the "Early Learning Center") - Princeton (Tiger Cubs) *Lowell South Elementary School - Princeton (Tiger Cubs) *Brumfield Elementary School - Princeton (Tiger Cubs) South Gibson School Corporation - Fort Branch: , near Fort Branch, Indiana as it looked before 2008. Gibson Southern, which services several nearby towns, underwent extensive renovation from 2008 to 2010.]] *Gibson Southern High School - Fort Branch (Titans) *Fort Branch Community School (K-8) - Fort Branch (Twigs) *Haubstadt Community School (K-8) - Haubstadt (Elites) *Owensville Community School (K-8) - Owensville (Kickapoos) Private Education Gibson County's Private Education consists of four Catholic Schools run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville and one non-Catholic Christian school. Holy Cross and St. James field basketball teams. Enrollment and Grades are in the 1st parenthesis.Gibson County Private Schools Mascot (I/A) is in 2nd parenthesis. *Bethel Christian School - Princeton (K-6:112) *Holy Cross Catholic School - Fort Branch (K-5:111) (Crusaders) *St. James Catholic School - St. James/Haubstadt (K-8:185) (Cougars) *St. Joseph Catholic School - Princeton (K-5:185) *St.s Peter & Paul Catholic School - Haubstadt (K-5:200) Higher education * Oakland City University - Oakland City, Private university * Vincennes University Workforce Training Center - Princeton Branch - 2 blocks west of Gibson County Courthouse * Ivy Tech Campus - south of Princeton, soon to be within city limits in upcoming annexation. * Vincennes University Center for Advanced Manufacturing - located near Fort Branch Community School at U.S. 41 and Coal Mine Road (CR 800 South). Groundbraking on October 23, 2009 with Construction starting on November 3, 2009.Che.state.in.us Businesses is Princeton's largest employer as well as the Largest employer in the Evansville Area.]] . Although it is the largest coal power plant in the USA, GGS is often still referred to by locals as PSI, in reference to its original and long time owner, Public Service Indiana.]] Industry * Gibson Generating Station (Coal), Owensville (across IN-64 from East Mount Carmel and across the Wabash River from Mount Carmel, Illinois). * Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, Princeton (located almost exactly halfway between Princeton and Fort Branch and largely in Union Township but addressed to Princeton.) * Hansen Corporation, Princeton (located on the south side) * TISA (Total Interior Systems of America), Princeton (located in the north end of the Industrial Park on Gach Road) * Millennium Steel, Princeton (Located Immediately north of Toyota). * Vuteq, Princeton (Located at north east corner of Toyota Plant). * Gibson County Quality Assurance, Princeton (Located in Gibson County Warehousing Complex— north of the Toyota Plant). * Toyota Tsusho, Princeton (Located in Gibson County Warehousing complex— north of Toyota Plant). * Toyota Boshoku, Princeton (Located at north end of the Industrial Park on Gach Road). Proposed Industry or Industry under construction (None at this time.) Broadcast media *TV 06 W06BD - Operated by Princeton Community High School. *FM 98.1 WRAY (FM) - Princeton - Country Music *FM 101.5 WBGW - Fort Branch - Religious Music/Talk *AM 1250 WRAY (AM) - Princeton - News/Talk Newspapers *Gibson County Today - Princeton *Princeton Daily Clarion - Princeton *Oakland City Journal - Oakland City *South Gibson Star-Times - Owensville + Fort Branch *South Gibson Bulletin - Owensville + Fort Branch Websites *Gibson County Now Recreation * Gibson County Fairgrounds - Princeton - site of Indiana's oldest county fair, started in 1852.The first Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant was held in 1958 when Carol Parks of Montgomery County was crowned * Azalea Path Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (Located South of Mt Olympus on the Gibson/Pike County Line) * Oakland City New Lake - Oakland City * Lafayette Park - Princeton * Gil Hodges Field - Princeton * Camp Carson YMCA Campground - Princeton * Haubstadt Old School Park and Old Gym - Haubstadt * Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt * Weather Rock Campground - Warrenton * Montgomery Park - Owensville * REH Center (Old Owensville Gym) - Owensville * Gibson Lake - Owensville * Marlette Park - Fort Branch * Old Gym - Fort Branch * City Park of Fort Branch * Gibson Southern High School Grounds - Fort Branch * Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area - Francisco and Oakland City See also * National Register of Historic Places listings in Gibson County, Indiana Notes External links * References * * }} Category:Gibson County, Indiana Category:Evansville metropolitan area Category:Counties of Indiana Category:Established in 1813 Category:Southwestern Indiana